Note sheet



C. F. STODDARD Nov. 4 1924.

- NOTE SHEET Filed March 13, i922 Patented Nov. 4, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES I1". STODDARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN PIANO COM- PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

NOTE SHEET.

Application filed March 13, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES F. S'ronnann, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Note Sheets, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to perforated note sheets for automatic musical instruments such as player pianos and the like and has for one of its objects the improvement in the relative location and arrangement of note sounding and expression controlling periorations in the sheet whereby, in cooperation with appropriate mechanism, the operation of an instrument, particularly as to the tone intensity, may be more advantageously controlled.

The present application is filed as a division of a copending application filed by me on January 19, 1910, Serial No. 538,883 and renewed June 22, 1918, Serial No. 241,439, upon which said application a patent has been granted No. 1,409,479 of March 14, 1922.

For the purpose of illustrating and dc scribing the present invention the note sheet of the accompanying drawing shows the embodiment of the invention which was selected for illustration and description in the above mentioned copending application. The said application above referred to also shows and describes a preferred embodiment of a certain invention in expression governing mechanism for automatic musical instru ments but inasmuch as the present invention in note sheets may possibly be adapted for use with expression mechanisms other than that particularly shown and described in said copending application, no expression mechanism will be shown herein. Refer-- ence may be had to the above mentioned patent for an appropriate expression mechanism with which the illustrative note sheet of this application may be used eitectively.

It is sufficient for the purposes ofthis application to show in the accompanying drawings a tracker T provided with the usual tracker vents which are connected with suitable mechanism for sounding notes. The tracker is also provided with additional vents which may be connected with suitable Serial No. 543,149.

expression governing mechanism whereby the intensity of the sounded notes may be controlled. These additional or expression controlling tracker vents are identified in the accompanying drawings by the letters A to D inclusive. In order to understand the present invention it 'inay be assumed that initially when the three vents A, B and C are closed to atmosphere the connected expression governing mechanism will operate to sound notes with a minimrun intensity to which the instrument may be adjusted, that the opening of vent A will increase playing intensities by a certain increment, that the opening of vent B (vents A and C being closed) will increase playing intensities by a greater increment, that the opening of vent G (vents A and B being closed) will increase playing intensities by a still greater increment, and that the increases in intensity occasioned by the separate opening of each of these vents may be combined so that the resultant increase will be substantially the sum of the several separate increases.

Inasmuch as it is advisable to avoid the use of slots of substantial length near the margin of a note sheet, the effect of opening, even momentarily, any one of the vents A, B or C, is made to continue after the vent is closed and until the vent D is opened. The opening of vent D will serve to negative or cancel the effect of the previous opening of any one of the vents A, B or C but will not negative or cancel the effect or" opening vents A, B or C simultaneously with the opening of vent D.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a note sheet indicated as traveling in the direction of the arrow, that is, downwardly across the tracker. The vertical dotted lines on the right of the sheet are for the purpose of indicating the al ;nment of expression controlling perforations with their proper tracker vents while the trans verse dotted lines show plainly the align ment of note sounding and expression coir trolling perforations.

The drawing shows an expression controlling perforation B in registration with the tracker vent B. This will operate to increase playing intensities so that when the note sounding perforations N and N register with the tracker bar, the corresponding notes will be sounded with an intensity somewhat greater than the minimum. Al though, as the note sheet moves across the tracker, the vent B will be closed before the note sounding perforations N and N reach their corresponding vent, nevertheless the effect of the opening of vent B will be preserved and' the notes sounded by perforations N and N will be played with the same intensity.

As the note sheet progresses further the perforation D will register with its vent D and negative or cancel the effect of the perforation B thereby restoring the instrument to a condition under which all notes will be struck with minimum intensity. However, before the note perforations N and N reach their respective vents in the tracker bar, the expression controlling perforation C will have opened vent C with the effect of increasing playing intensities to some extent so that the intensity of the notes sounded by perforations N and Ne will be somewhat above the minimum by the increment of change controlled by vent C.

Thereafter and before the sounding of another note by perforation N expression controlling perforations B and D will have registered with the tracker. The effect of perforation D will have been to cancel or negative the effect of perforation C but it will be without effect as to perforation B Consequently, the note struck by N will be sounded with the same intensity as the note N I The expression controlling perforations A and C will next register with the tracker and inasmuch as the increase in playing in tensity inaugurated by perforation B is still continuing, the intensity of the notes sounded by perforations N and N will be raised to the maximum of which the instrument is capable.

As the note sheet progresses further the canceling perforation D and the expression setting perforation B register simultaneously with the tracker. This negatives the effect of the previous perforations A and (l and causes the notes sounded by perforations N and N to be struck with the same intensity as the note sounded by perf0- rat-ion N Again the perforations A and C registering with the tracker notes sounded by perforations N N and N to be played with maximum intensity. Thereafter the perforation D cancels or negatives the effect of the preceding perforations A B and G and causes the note sounded by perforation N to be played with minimum intensity.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the above described embodiment of the invention shows a note sheet wherein there are three series ofexpression setting perforations and a single series of expression canceling perforations, any one of the perforations in the latter series operating to negative the effect of all preceding expression setting perforations.

The preceding description is suflicient to indicate the variety of combinations of note sounding and expression controlling perforations which may be made in the note sheet in order to secure a wide variety of effects in playing intensities. The note sounding perforations maybe located throughout the sheet as indicated by the tempo requirements of any selected musical composition while the expression controlling perforations may be arranged in appropriate groups and aligned properly with the note sounding perforations in order to give to any note or group of notes the intensity which may be desired by the artist.

The arrangement of expression controlling perforations herein described lessens to an appreciable extent the width of the marginal portion of the note sheet which must be devoted to expression controlling perforations and which might otherwise be utilized for note sounding perforations. This isaccomplished by having the single series of canceling perforations effective with respect. to all of the expression setting perforations.

It is understood that the invention herein described is not limited to the preferred embodiment thereof selected for illustrative purposes but may be modified and variously embodied within the scope of the subjoined claims.

I claim as my invention: 1. A music sheet for musical instruments comprising a plurality of series of expression governing perforations, and a less number of series of expression governing perforations to oppose the effects of said plurality.

2. A perforated note sheet for automatic musical instruments having note sounding perforations and expression controlling perforations including a plurality of series ofexpression setting perforations and a single series of expression canceling perforations.

3. A perforated note sheet forautomatic musical instruments, the same being provided with the usual note sounding perforations including a plurality of expression setting perforations and an expression canceling perforation to negative the ef ect of any expression set-tin perforation not in alignment therewith transversely of the note sheet.

i. A perforated note sheet for automatic musical instruments provided with the usual note sounding perforations and provided with several series of expression setting perforations and a single series of expression canceling perforations to negative the operation of all preceding expression setting perforations.

perforation being ineffective with respect to expression setting perforations in transverse alignment therewith.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification this 11th day of March, 1922.

CHARLES F. STODDARD. 

